Clothes-drying device



@cih 9 9 'i923 R. M. QVERTON CLOTHES DRYING DEVICE Filed Feb. 24.

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Patented @et 9, 11923,.

ROBERT M. OVERTON, 0F WATERLOO, JIUWA.

CLOTHES-DRYING DJEVKCE.

Application led February 24, 1921. Serial No. 447,562.

-To' aZZ whom t may concern:

Be itknown that I, ROBERT M. OVERTON, a subject of the King of GreatBritain and a resident of Waterloo, Black Hawk (lounty liowa, haveinvented certain new and usefu improvements in Clothes-Drying Devices,of which the following is a specification.

My invention'relates to improvements in clothes drying devices. Oneobject of my improvements is to furnish a hollow, clpsed, foldablesectional casing or drying container for dam clothes, adapted to beconnected removably to or placed in juxtaposition to a washing machine,and having therein or positioned to. propel an air-current through it, arotatable fan-wheel adapted to be actuated by a motor 'as that of theWashing machine, the casing folding into small compass for storage ortransportation when not in use.

Another object of my improvements is to associate with said casing aplurality of clothes holders, arranged therein in spaced arrangement,permeable to an air-current driven therethrough by said fan-wheel, andhaving spacing members which also serve to releasably clamp articles ofclothing or any textiles upon the holders in a spread out and loosecondition favorable to quick drying under the action of the air-current.

These objects have been accomplished b the means which are hereinafterdescribe and claimed, and which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Fig. l is a perspective view of my improved clothesdrying device as mounted upon a washing machine; Fig. 2 is a plan of thecasing with the 'cover removed, showing the clothes holding meanstherein; Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation of two of the superposedclothes holders, and Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the same.

Similar numerals of reference denote corresponding parts throughout theseveral views.

My improved clothes drying device has a foldable casing or containermade of hingedly connected sections. To a horizontal rectangular bottomplate l, like side plates 3 and a are connected by means of hinges 2.@ne end of the casing may be left open as shown, and there is anpendclosure 9 at the opposite end, the latter connected to the bottomplateby hinges 10. A flanged top cover 6 i-s hinged to the side plate 4by hinges 5,

and has a slotted hasp Z-for engagement with a staple 8 on the outsideof the side plate 3. The side and end plates may be releas'ably securedtogether by any fastening means, such as overlapped oriced lugs 35connect- @0 ed by split-pins. 0n the outside of the side plates at theirlower corners, may be fixed sockets 36 in which legs 37 may be removablymounted, and fastened in any desired way. A hooked rod 13 may be pivotedto @5 the top of the end plate 9 to' releasably engage a stud 14; on anend flange of the cover plate 6 to prop the latter in an open position.When one end of the casing is left open as shown, the upper corners ofthe side l@ plates at that end may be detachably connected to a curvedcross-bar 15, which permits the end of the casing to be brought intoclose' juxtaposition with a cylindrical washing machine 18to which itmay be releas'- 75 ably fastened by hook and staple connections 16 and17. rl`he motor, not shown, of the washing machine 18, may have aprojecting powershaft 19 provided with a terminal belt-pul- 50 ley 20carrying the lower end of a driving belt 2l. An oriliced bearing-body 28is tired on the middle of the curved cross-bar 15 and in it is rotatablymounted a short shaft on which the fan wheel 22 is loosely and re 85movably mounted together with a belt pulley rigidly connected theretohaving a clutch member. Said belt 21 passes about the ul ley 241, and aclutch sleeve 25 is slida ly, non-rotatably mounted on said shaft foroccasional engagement with the clutch face on said pulley. rl`heclutch-sleeve is annularly grooved to receive a terminal fork 26 on areversely bent arm 27 which latter may be used to shift the clutchsleeve into or out of engagement with said pulleys clutch face.

When the clutch-sleeve 25 lis engaged with said pulley clutch-face thepulley 24 is locked against rotation, the driving-belt 21 sliding aroundthe pulley, being somem0 what loose, as the fan requires but littletractive power while in operation. v

Openings 11 may be provided in the ends of the side plates 3 and dadjacent said washing machine, and the end plate-9 may have a M5 numberof louvered openings 12.

lhe device so far described, may be successfully employed in the dryingof clothes when the damp clothes are disposed within said casing uponany kind of supporting M0 means which will permit themv to be in a looseor spread out condition .to permit air currents, propelled by said fanwheel, to forcibly permeate them. y

I haveshown, however, certain means for performing this function whichare thought to be of superior convenience and utility. An oriicedpartition may be removably mounted across the interior of 'thecasingimmediately to the rear of said fan Wheel 22 as a safeguard for theoperator, and may be constructed of a rectangular open frame 30 carryinga large meshed netting, the uprights of said frame bein lslidably seatedbetween lugs on bodies 29 racketed on the inner walls of the side-plates4 near their tops'. This partition divides the interior oi the casing intwo compartments of which the larger one is used as the clothes dryingchamber. On the inner walls plates, near the lower edges and near thesaid partition, are fixed bracketed bodies 31 having vertically oriticedhorizontal parts in which are stepped the lower ends of lvertical rods32.

Referring to Figs. 2 to 4, inclusive, the numeral 34 denotes one of aplurality of like tabular clothes holders, referably having open framescovered with arge mesh netting 38. These-holders are placed in saidclothes drying chamber in spaced superposition successively, to adesired number, but it is good practice to have the heights of spacingbetween the holders of the same heights of the louver openings 12positioned at the same level for freer transmission of air currentstherethrough. The ends of the holders 34 adjacent said endl plate 9'mayhave short legs 39 :fixed thereon to support the su rposed holders inspaced relation.

he opposite end of each holder 34 has a spaced 1plair of like downwardlybifurcated legs 40 Xedly mounted on the cross bar 12, whose forks areyplaced astride of the like cross bar of the holder below to serve asspacing legs. Referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that said bifurcatedlegs 40 have the further function of serving as securing means by whichlto hold or releasably fasten a spread out piece of cloth or garment 41upon the netting of a holder, the weight of the holder above thusserving to secure the cloth at its end nearest the fan wheel 22, theother end of the cloth being left free to flap in the stron air currentpropelled by the fan wheel. referably, but a single layer of the textileshould be placed upon a holder so that evaporation may more rapidlyoccur to effect quick drying. In this Way, when all the holders are useda full charge can be received thereon after washing in the machine 18,the operation of the fan wheel sufficing to thoroughly dry the clothesduring the time that another charge is being washed in said machine.

It is to be understood that the fan wheel or other air propelling meansmay be actuated of said sidebe suitable and "available, as the device isnot necessarily restricted to be an attachment to a washing machine.

The numeral 3l denotes oriiced lugs fixed on the lower inner faces ofthe side plates 3 and 4 to receivestandard rods 32. Oriced lugs 33 arefixed on both sides of the holders 34 to have their orifices in verticalalinement with the orifices in said lugs 31,*the rods passingtherethrough to position and detachably secure the holders 34 insuperposition. f

Having described my invention, what l claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is: 1. A device of the character described,comprising a hollow collapsible casing having inlet and outlet ports anda removable orificed partition therein, and means within and forcreating an air-current through said casing partition.

2. A device of the character described, comprising a 'hollow vcasingcomposed of foldably-connected sections provided with openings, in saidcasing, and an orificed Apartition dividing the interior into afan-wheel chamber and a clothes-receiving chamber.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a hollow casinghaving air-ports at its opposite ends, a fan-wheel rotatably mounted inone end of said casing, a plurality of oriiced tabular clothes-holdingbodies removably and separably mounted in juxtaposition in said casing'and positioned lengthwise therein relative to said fan-wheel be.- tweensaid end air-ports.

4. A device .of-the character described,.

comprising a hollow casing having air-ports in Aits opposite ends, afan-wheel rotatably mounted in one end of said casing, a plurality ofhorizontally disposed spaced tabular clothes-holding bodies removablyand separably positioned in superposition in said casing, and means forspacing said bodies-apart.

5. A device of the character described, comprising a hollow casinglhaving airports in its o posite ends, a fan-wheel rotatably` mounte inone end of said casing, an orificed partition dividing the interior intoa fan-wheel compartment and a clothes-receiving compartment, a pluralityof fiat oriiiced superposed spaced horizontal trays positioned in theclothes-receiving compartment, and spacing-supports. depending from eachtray shaped to t upon portions of the tray thereunder and to clampbetween it and the traythereunder articles spread flatly upon the lattertray lengthwise in the casing with relation to both said fan-wheel andto said air-ports.

6. A device of the character described, comprising a hollow casingformed of foldably connected sections and having air-ports ,by any othermotor connection which. may

a rotatable fan-wheel positioned Lavorare atfits opposite ends, afan-Wheel rotatably mounted in said casing, standards removably mountedin said casing on opposite sides thereof, a plurality of clothes-holdingtrays positioned in spaced superposed horizontal relation in saidcasingr between said air-ports and lengthwise with relation to said fan-VWheel, said trays having means for clamping atly thereon articles to bedried, and having other means for releasably securing them l@ to saidstandards.

SignedA at Waterloo, llowa, this 16th day of 1F eb., 1921.

ROBERT M. OVERTN.

